44 (film)

44 is a 2026 Azerbaijani war drama film directed by Ismayil Safarali and Maxim Smetana from a screenplay by Anar Alakbarov and Ismayil Iman. Set during the 44-day Second Karabakh war of 2020, it follows Rashad Khalilov (Ibrahim Chingiz), an officer of the Azerbaijani special forces, and Zeynep Özdemir (Özge Gürel), a Turkish orthopaedic surgeon working in Ganja, as the war moves towards the battle for Shusha. Ilgar Musayev, Hikmat Rahimov, Mehriban Zaki and Gurban Ismayilov appear in supporting roles.

The film was produced by Orman Aliyev with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Film Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ARKA) and the Baku Media Center, with Alakbarov, an assistant to President Ilham Aliyev, serving as artistic director. Its production took five years, including 14 months of filming at more than 130 locations across Azerbaijan, and involved about 2,500 military personnel, more than 150 pieces of military equipment and specialists from 13 countries.

44 premiered at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku on 12 October 2026 and was released in Azerbaijani cinemas on 15 October. It was praised by Azerbaijani cultural figures and in the national press, with commentary focusing on its scale, its music and its performances.

Plot

Rashad Khalilov, whose father died when he was young, is raised by his mother, a schoolteacher, and works his way into the Azerbaijani special forces; his commander, Colonel Ramazan Karimov, repeatedly asks him whether he can cope, a question that recurs throughout his life. Rashad is in love with Zeynep Özdemir, a Turkish orthopaedic surgeon working in Ganja; in a flashback, the couple attend a theatre production of Leyli and Majnun.

When the war begins in 2020, Rashad's unit is sent to the front, while Zeynep treats the wounded in Ganja. The city is struck by missile attacks: a woman living in Zeynep's home is killed, and a boy, Bakhtiyar, is injured. In the hospital, patients and staff watch a televised address by the President. Elsewhere, a mother remains composed after her son's grave is shelled, and a father marks the army's advances on a map with red pins while his son's position remains marked in black.

The story culminates in the battle for Shusha, in which Rashad is killed; a commander dies after his comrades carry him to the Jidir Plain. The film ends with a commemorative march on Remembrance Day in which soldiers carry portraits of the fallen, intercut with archival footage of Ilham Aliyev and Mehriban Aliyeva at the 2021 march.

Cast

• Ibrahim Chingiz as Rashad Khalilov, a special forces officer
• Özge Gürel as Zeynep Özdemir, a Turkish orthopaedic surgeon working in Azerbaijan
• Ilgar Musayev as Colonel Ramazan Karimov, the commander of a special operations group
• Hikmat Rahimov as an Armenian sniper
• Mehriban Zaki as a mother
• Gurban Ismayilov
• Mahir Darvish, Ismayil Karimov, Elnur Najafov, Nadir Rustamli, Turkay Jafarli and Nurida Musabeyli in supporting roles

According to the producers, the film has 32 actors in leading roles and 1,143 in supporting roles, as well as about 2,000 extras; veterans of the war also appear.

Production

Development

Development of 44 began about five years before its release; according to the producers, two years were spent writing the screenplay and a further year on pre-production. The screenplay was written by Anar Alakbarov, who also served as the film's artistic director, and Ismayil Iman. At a press conference before the premiere, Alakbarov said that the war had left a major mark on Azerbaijani history, and Iman said that the film had educational aims and that particular attention had been paid to the delivery of dialogue. The directors, Ismayil Safarali and Maxim Smetana, said the film carried a great responsibility towards the veterans and the families of soldiers killed in the war.

Casting

The casting of Turkish actress Özge Gürel was announced in August 2026. Before filming, the actors underwent tactical training at a special forces training base. Mehriban Zaki said that recreating events that remained in living memory required sincerity rather than conventional acting technique, while Gurban Ismayilov said he had watched footage from the war to prepare emotionally. Hikmat Rahimov, who plays an Armenian sniper, said he kept his distance from the actors playing Azerbaijani soldiers between takes in order to stay in character.

Filming

Principal photography lasted 14 months and took place at more than 130 locations in Baku, Absheron, Aghdam, Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Goranboy, Ganja, Khojaly, Khojavend, Khizi, Lerik and Shusha. The production used 2,500 military personnel, including 42 special forces soldiers, more than 150 units of military, engineering and aviation equipment, and about 300,000 rounds of training and live ammunition, along with pyrotechnics and smoke effects. The final battle scene was shot in Shusha in February, in the concrete shell of an abandoned factory, during snowfall; Musayev also spoke of the difficulties caused by the weather during filming.

Post-production and visual effects

The 112 hours of footage were edited over a year into a film running 2 hours and 38 minutes. Specialists from 13 countries – the United States, Germany, Austria, Belarus, the United Kingdom, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and Estonia – worked on stunts, pyrotechnics, sound, make-up and visual effects. The visual effects, including explosions, armoured vehicles, aircraft and large-scale battle scenes, were created by the studio UMP with teams from Estonia and Ukraine; the filmmakers stated that no artificial intelligence was used. Colour grading and mastering were carried out by the Polish studio FixaFilm.

Music

The score was composed by Ruslan Aghababayev, with Vugar Jamalzade as music producer. It was first recorded at New York Production Studios and then in Baku by the symphony orchestra of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater conducted by Eyyub Guliyev; the final mixing and mastering were done at AIR Studios in London. Work on the music took 394 hours. The sound design took six months, and the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix was completed with Russian specialists from the ORK film company. An audio-described version was also prepared for visually impaired viewers. The film closes with a passage of the mugham "Bayati-Shiraz" performed by Kanan Bayramov.

Release

Marketing

The first trailer was released on 2 August 2026, Azerbaijani Cinema Day, when Alakbarov published it on social media. From 8 September, a series of twelve teasers was released, the first of which was titled "Döyüşçü qardaşlar" ("Brothers in arms").

Premiere

44 premiered at the Heydar Aliyev Center on 12 October 2026, preceded by a press conference with the cast and crew. The premiere was attended by Arzu Aliyeva, head of the Baku Media Center, along with state and public figures. Before the screening, the soundtrack was performed live by the symphony orchestra of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater and the Azerbaijan State Choir Capella. After the screening, mothers of soldiers killed in the war were invited on stage. A projection screen from the German-Austrian company Lang AG and a projector rented from the German company BIG cinema were used for the screening.

Theatrical release

The film opened in cinemas across Azerbaijan on 15 October 2026. On 19 October, the Film Agency warned that filming screenings and sharing the recordings on social media infringed copyright and could lead to administrative or criminal liability. The producers have announced plans for screenings abroad and for submissions to international film festivals.

Reception

In a review for Kulis.az, Nadir Yalçın called 44 a "film-life", arguing that its emotional force came from events its audience had lived through. He praised the young cast and the pairing of Chingiz and Gürel, and singled out Rahimov's performance as the Armenian sniper, comparing it to Melik Dadashov's in the 1993 film Fəryad. Writing in Xalq qəzeti, member of parliament Tanzila Rustamkhanli praised the combination of documentary and fictional techniques and the chronological presentation of the war, and called for the film to be screened throughout the country and translated into other languages.

Several Azerbaijani cultural figures commented on the film after its premiere. Film director Ramiz Hasanoglu said it met world standards "by all parameters", actress Afag Bashirgyzy praised its dramaturgy, and poet Sabir Rustamkhanli called it a major achievement of Azerbaijani cinema.

See also

• Cinema of Azerbaijan
• Second Nagorno-Karabakh War